Anyone Can Love
by Araso Tesana
Summary: A youkai from a distant country has come to Japan; she doesn't trust men, she has a secret that doesn't add up, her past is a sad one, and the truth of it is mysterious even to her. She has caught Sesshoumaru's attention. Love is possible even for youkais
1. The Foreign Youkai

*Disclaimer! I do not own Inuyasha or its characters. Tsuyara however is mine. No one may use her or any characters of my creation (of which I will introduce in the appropriate chapters) *

*Now, hi! This is Araso Tesana! Yeah I know for any of you who have already read this story. I'm sorry. I'm doing some revising. (And I'm changing the ending… I did not like it as much as I thought I would) Wow, it's been a LONG time since I've been to Fan Fiction. Let's hope I don't continue these long absences'. Reviews are nice! If only to say "hey! I've read your story its not going unnoticed! =P anyways this isn't gonna be wildly different from the previous version (mostly grammar changes and such) so those who have read this already have fun rereading and good luck finding the changes. And for those who haven't read this story yet enjoy!

Anyone Can Love

A youkai from a distant country has come to Japan; she doesn't trust men, she has a secret that doesn't add up, her past is a sad one, and the truth of it is mysterious even to her. She has caught Sesshoumaru's attention. Love is possible even for youkais

Chapter 1

The Foreign Youkai

Inuyasha stood his ground as Sesshoumaru struck at him with his venomous whip. The younger brother attempted to strike down with his Tetseiga, but the Youkai Lord was too fast and slipped from under him. Once more they stood adjacent from each other, hatred obvious in the eyes of each brother. They charged again…

A demon girl staggered from tree to tree soaked in fresh blood that was flowing from her fresh wounds. Consciousness was fading from her. She came to a light, it was vague but she could make out two faint figures battling. She could smell others nearby too, it was her only chance. She forced herself to continue forward, she needed to get out of the trees and into the light. If she were to live… soon she managed to breach the clearing and before collapsing from lack of blood, muttered a single word.

"Help"

The fight between Sesshoumaru and Inuyasha came to a sudden halt. All eyes fell upon the fallen youkai. She had dark skin, her waist length hair was white with an odd golden gleam, and her ears were pointed. She had sharp claws like Inuyasha's and Sesshoumaru's, a long black snake tail with a golden blade shaped like an arrow head, at its tip. Her feet resembled that of a cat, golden brown in color. She was wearing a red kimono with a dragon, embroidered with black and gold, twisting around it. Last, she was wearing a necklace that had an odd looking eye in front of a winged cobra; it hung on a gold chain.

Kagome temporarily forgot about Inuyasha's fight with Sesshoumaru and ran to the side of the Youkai. Sango followed.

"What are you doing!" Inuyasha yelled.

"She's injured, Inuyasha!" Kagome said, kneeling down to the youkai, examining her wounds. Inuyasha said nothing. He turned to Sesshoumaru, ready to continue his fight. Inuyasha was determined to win. Sesshoumaru, however, abandoned his fighting stance and stood up strait.

"I'll kill you some other time, Inuyasha." He said. Inuyasha roared out.

"You cowered!"

Sesshoumaru said nothing. And without looking at his brother he called for Rin and Jaken to follow him as he passed the unconscious youkai. He looked at her for a fraction of a second. Her golden-white hair glistened from the light of the setting sun. Sesshoumaru drew his gaze from her and continued through the trees.

"I hate him." Inuyasha growled.

"Someone go get my first aid kit, this girl is bleeding pretty badly." Kagome demanded in a rushed whisper. Miroku did what she said and went to retrieve Kagome's back pack. Inuyasha walked up behind Kagome and looked over her shoulder at the youkai.

"I wonder what happened to her." He asked, sounding curious. Kagome checked her pulse and sighed with faint relief.

"Well she's still alive. Let's get her wounds dressed and we'll ask her when she wakes up." Kagome replied. Miroku returned with Kagome's backpack, and she rummaged around in it for her first aid kit.

"Aha, found it." She said as she drew out a white plastic box with a red cross on its lid. She took out a few ace bandages, and cleaned the youkais' wounds before wrapping them up. While she did this, Kagome noticed something very odd about her wounds.

"These where made by farm tools." She said suddenly.

"Yeah they were…" Sango said as she took a closer look.

"But why would a youkai let her self fall this easily to humans?" Miroku asked.

"I've never seen a demon like this before." said Sango, further examining her closer.

"You know, now that I think about it, neither have I." Miroku admitted.

"Well I don't care what she is. This could be another one of Naraku's Traps." Inuyasha said stubbornly. Kagome shot him a glare.

"Do you always have to judge people as soon as you see them?" she asked angrily.

"I'm only saying that it's possible…" he scowled, Kagome rolled her eyes.

"Well we won't know until she wakes up, will we?" she said. Inuyasha didn't reply, he merely continued to scowl, mumbling to him self.

As dusk fell, Shippou was given the task of watching the youkai while the others set up camp. Her wounds were dressed and cleaned now, so Kagome left her to rest, hoping that she lives through the night.

Not long after the group settled down by the fire, the girl made a muffled noise. Shippou stood over her face as she opened her eyes. He jumped back slightly; her eyes were a startling crimson. At first glance she looked demonic but, it was soon apparent that that was their natural color. The youkai tried to gain sight of those around her, her vision slightly blurred. A young voice sounded above her.

"Are you all right?" said the young kitsuun. The figures became a bit clearer but she couldn't make out any faces.

"Who are you?" she whispered, trying to look at them.

"I'm Shippou." said the kitsuun. "What's your name?" he asked.

"T-Tsuyara…ow my head…" she mumbled, putting her hand to her forehead.

"Well she seems all right now." said a male voice which was Inuyasha. Suddenly the youkai called Tsuyara jumped, cringing as she did so, feeling her wounds.

"What is it?" Inuyasha said, Tsuyara gained her vision completely now and tried to back away.

"Stay away from me!" she yelled. Miroku came up to her and took one of her hands into his.

"We mean you no harm, we're only…" but he was quieted by Tsuyara as she turned suddenly demonic and slashed him deeply across the shoulder with her free hand. Miroku stood away from her.

"We're trying to help you!" Kagome said angrily

"Yeah why did you do that?" said Sango.

"Not you two, them! Keep them away from me!" Tsuyara glared at Inuyasha and Miroku.

"But they're trying to help you too." Shippou said.

"No! Keep them away from me!" Tsuyara yelled. Kagome turned to the guys and nodded.

"Inuyasha go over there and tend to Miroku." She demanded. Inuyasha looked at her in protest.

"Go on!" Kagome persisted.

"Feh… c'mon" Inuyasha said to Miroku. As they left to the other side of the clearing Kagome turned on Tsuyara.

"Why did you do that!" she said. Tsuyara held her knees close to her and looked painfully into the fire.

"Men are evil." She said in a broken whisper.

…...

Inuyasha looked at the girls and Shippou from the other side of the clearing glaring at them as he bandaged Miroku's shoulder.

"Damn, I wonder what her deal is. You all right Miroku?" Inuyasha asked as he finished up.

"I'll live. She's probably only frightened Inuyasha." Miroku said; he cringed a little from the pain. Inuyasha looked at him incredulously.

"Yeah but she made it pretty clear that it was just you and me that she didn't want around. I don't see her attacking Kagome or Sango." Inuyasha pointed out.

"Good point." Miroku nodded. Some time after Sango walked over to them.

"So?" Inuyasha asked impatiently.

"Well, apparently Tsuyara has this fear of males. That's why she attacked you Miroku." Sango said.

"I see." said Miroku.

"Oh and she was attacked by humans, like we suspected." Sango added. "We didn't get much else from her though."

…...

Sesshoumaru walked in silence. Rin and Jaken close behind him on the back of the Ah-Un. He didn't think much of his filthy half brother… he was not worth the time. But for some reason his thoughts trailed back to that clearing… not for Inuyasha or his companions… but the lying figure of that Demon girl stayed fresh in his mind. Her white-gold hair was the clearest of all her features. Why was he thinking of that? What was it about that youkai that didn't leave his thoughts? Shaking his head, he banished these things out of his mind and continued on.

…...

The next day, Tsuyara accompanied Kagome and Sango on their journey, along with Inuyasha and Miroku, though Tsuyara still keep well away from either of them. She spent most of her time riding on Kirara's back while she was in her huge form, so as to rest from her wounds as they traveled. A nagging question lingered on all their thoughts though; it had still remained unanswered.

"Tsuyara… how come a youkai like you lost so easily to humans?" Sango asked. Tsuyara didn't say any thing for a few minutes.

"I, um—I was weekend the day before… some youkai in a baboon pelt attacked me." Everyone wheeled around to look at her. Tsuyara was taken aback at their reactions.

"Naraku!" Inuyasha growled. "That bastard! Do you know where he went?"

Tsuyara glared at Inuyasha, having Kirara move further from him. She mumbled something about males.

"No I don't. He sent theses insects after me and I blacked out." She said.

"Damn." Inuyasha cursed.

"Why would he attack you for no reason? That's not like him." Kagome asked.

"Do you know this Naraku?" Tsuyara asked.

"Unfortunately" Miroku said clutching his right hand into a fist.

"I wasn't asking you." Tsuyara hissed.

"Did you have something he wanted?" Sango asked.

"Well… actually yes. I had found this little crystal earlier that day. He said it was his but I panicked."

"Because he was male?" Shippou asked. Tsuyara nodded.

"Hey why aren't you afraid of Shippou? He's a male isn't he?" Inuyasha pointed out.

"Shippou is only a child. He's still innocent." Tsuyara said. "Any ways, I panicked and ran away. So he sent all these weird insects at me, when I woke up the crystal had gone… I was weakened after that.

"That's because those insects are poisonous." Kagome explained. "Was the crystal a shard of the Shikon Jewel?"

"The what?" she blinked. Every eye turned on her. They looked dumbfounded. Tsuyara didn't know what the Shikon No Tama was.

"Now that is interesting, a youkai that doesn't know about the shards." Inuyasha said.

"How do you not know what that is?" Sango asked. "Every youkai in Japan knows about the Shikon Jewel."

"Well that's just it I guess, I'm from Egypt. See?" Tsuyara said, showing them her necklace. "That's the eye of Horus, one of our gods. The snake behind it is what my kind look like in their true forms. I only came here a year ago."

"Oh well that explains a few things. Like why we didn't recognize your kind of youkai." Kagome said.

"I'm an edjo, but I don't know much about my kind because I was raised by humans. My mother was killed by another Edjo when I was a child. I was too young to know how to really be what I am." Tsuyara explained.

"You mean you don't know how to be a demon?" asked Inuyasha in surprise. Tsuyara shook her head.

"No not really."

"But I grew up with humans too… I know how to be a youkai" Inuyasha found himself saying. Tsuyara looked puzzled by this but answered calmly.

"Well, maybe it's something else. The fact is most of my demonic powers and the customs of my kind are a complete mystery to me."

Kagome and Sango took their turn to explain about the jewel shards. When they mentioned that it makes youkais' stronger, Tsuyara admitted that while she was in possession of it she did seem to be stronger then usual.

Tsuyara continued to stay with them till her wounds healed. Not feeling up to being on her own. Unbeknownst to Inuyasha or the others she had a secret that would also explain why she was weaker against humans then a youkai should be. But she would not tell them. She wouldn't tell any one.

…...

Sesshoumaru sat perched in a tree one clear night. Rin and Jaken were fast asleep at the Trees roots. Sesshoumaru looked out into the darkness of the sky his amber eyes glistening under the nearly full moon. He closed his eyes and thought silently to him self. But then a familiar sent reached his nose. One was his half brother; the others were the hanyou's traveling companions. Kagome, the odd priestess, Sango, the demon slayer, and her fire cat Kirara, the monk Miroku, and the kitsuun Shippou. But another sent was with them; it was vaguely familiar… then the image of the youkai girl lying on the ground with her golden-white hair gleaming in the sun flashed across his memory.

He looked down to the trees roots to see if his companions were all still sound asleep. The way Rin laid on the ground and Jaken's snores told him that they were. Sesshoumaru leapt from tree to tree almost silently and effortlessly toward the sent. Why was he going there though? He stopped him self and thought for a moment. He had no need to bother with a young youkai girl… and it wasn't worth his time either to venture toward Inuyasha. He was about to turn back to his camp but Inuyasha's' voice sounded nearby. Sesshoumaru stood still and silent on his branch.

"Shh, I think I heard something." Inuyasha said. Sesshoumaru could smell his half brother coming his way. But Sesshoumaru stood still; he wasn't going to run from a filthy half breed. And he was high enough up that Inuyasha wouldn't be able to see him, as long as the wind didn't change its direction Sesshoumaru felt there was no need to worry.

But why worry? For some reason Sesshoumaru didn't want to be seen, he didn't want Inuyasha to know he was there. Not because Sesshoumaru could catch Inuyasha off guard if he were not seen, but there was something else in his mind other then fighting. Again golden-white hair entered his thoughts.

He could see the red figure that was Inuyasha below him. Sesshoumaru watched wearily from above. Inuyasha sniffed around but Sesshoumaru was down wind so it would be harder for Inuyasha to sniff him out. The younger brother turned and walked away, shrugging his shoulders.

"Must have been some animal." Sesshoumaru heard him say. As soon as he felt that Inuyasha was gone, Sesshoumaru followed. He leapt silently through the trees as he neared a light being cast by a small fire. There he saw all of them, his half brother Inuyasha was sitting moodily on a log while his companions sat around him. Then there she was… sitting in between the demon slayer and the strange priestess, was the young youkai girl. Her back was facing Sesshoumaru and, for some unnamable reason, he felt a twinge of disappointment… he shook it off, '_where did that come from?'_ his attention was drawn again towards the fire when Kagome asked the youkai girl a question.

"How are your wounds Tsuyara? Are they felling any better?" the youkai nodded.

"A little, I think I'll be up to leaving tomorrow…" Sesshoumaru paid no attention to her answer, only her name. _'So, it's Tsuyara…' _

*Please Review! ^_^*


	2. Tsuyara's Story

*Disclaimer! I do not own Inuyasha or its characters. Tsuyara however is mine. No one may use her or any characters of my creation (of which I will introduce in the appropriate chapters) *

Chapter 2

Tsuyara's Story

Morning came, and Tsuyara was ready to leave. After her good-byes she walked into the trees and disappeared. She fingered her necklace as she ventured. With her eyes closed, she imagined some very old and very fond memories. A sudden sound of rustling leaves reached her ears. She opened her eyes and spun around sniffing the air.

Sesshoumaru was still in his tree, he had stayed there during the night. Just waking, he noticed that the youkai girl was up. It caught him by surprise that she was so close. He leapt away, heading back to Rin and Jaken.

Tsuyara retreated through the trees, away from the sound.

Sesshoumaru found his companions awake and looking for him. Rin greeted him in her usual manner of that silly bow.

"Lord Sesshoumaru, where did you go? You were gone when we awoke!" Jaken squawked.

"Nowhere." Sesshoumaru said emotionlessly, Jaken nodded. "Let's go." He added.

Sesshoumaru walked back to the tree that he had stayed in that night. Stopping, he sniffed the air. He caught the sent that he was after and turned towards the direction that it was in. He wanted to follow her for some reason, she wouldn't leave his mind.

"Milord, where are we going?" Rin asked. Sesshoumaru looked around at her.

"I'm looking for water." He lied. That was the first thing that came to him. He sniffed the air again in all hopes that water was near. To his relief, a very faint hint of a stream had reached his nose; it would take the day to get there. He led Rin and Jaken in that direction, abandoning his pursuit for the youkai girl.

They reached the small river just before dusk. It was slow moving and shallow, so Sesshoumaru allowed Rin to play in the water a bit before they would go to sleep. As he watched Rin splash a squawking Jaken, a sent drifted to him.

'_She's here…' _he thought. He stood up and looked over the river and sniffed again, finding the trail of her sent. "Jaken, watch Rin, and don't let her stay up too late. I'm going to look around." He commanded the toad.

Jaken nodded, but watched his master leap across the river, and disappear into the trees in complete confusion. That didn't seem like him at all.

Sesshoumaru followed her sent with interest. Soon his eyes found the soft glow of a dying fire. The youkai girl called Tsuyara lay asleep just a few feet away.

He slowly walked up to her sleeping form. Bending down over her, he surveyed her details. The dim light of the embers gave her hair a heavenly glow. He stretched out his hand and stroked a few of the white-gold hairs; they were silky to the touch, sending strange shivers up Sesshoumaru's spine.

Suddenly, a clawed hand dug into his making him topple over. Tsuyara had woken, she looked him. The fear in her eyes was unlike anything Sesshoumaru had ever seen. It took him by surprise and he ripped his hand away from her.

"S-sorry" He heard himself say as he felt heat rise in his face, and he ran.

'_What on earth possessed me to act in such a way?' _Sesshoumaru cursed at him self as he walked back across the river. He looked at his bleeding hand, it was trembling slightly.

He settled himself in a tree above Rin and Jaken who had gone to sleep already. He, though, found it hard to sleep that night. The fear in Tsuyara's eyes lingered in his thoughts, and his hand continued to tremble. When he finally did fall into his dreams, they were filled with golden-white hair and crimson eyes.

…...

For a week, Tsuyara was more uneasy at night, especially one night that week. That youkai stayed at the top of her mind. Even though he had run, she didn't care, he was a male and that was enough of a reason for her to attack him.

Her journey took her to a cliff side one morning. She admired the view from its peak for a while and continued on near its edge. The cliff was fascinating to her. There weren't many in Egypt.

Then, out of nowhere, Tsuyara was grabbed by two furry brown arms. It was a weasel youkai. She was able to cut her self loose by swinging her bladed tail at the beasts arms. It was then that she realized there were more. They lunged at her, she tried to fend them off but her tail and claws alone weren't enough. As she attacked them she heard something hit the ground but took little notice at the time.

A flash of white streaked past her vision and several weasels were sliced in half by a demonic sword. Once, the assailant stopped just long enough for Tsuyara to see who it was.

'_It's that Dog youkai that was watching me that night a week before!' _she remembered.

As she watched, one weasel youkai grabbed Tsuyara from behind and began to run with her near the edge of the cliff. But the vermin didn't get far. It stopped suddenly and its head rolled away onto the ground. Tsuyara leapt out of it way as the body collapsed. Her footing was lost and she slipped of the cliffs edge.

She closed her eyes and prepared for impact but something caught her. Soon they landed and she looked up at the one who caught her. She saw his features more clearly now. Silver hair obscured handsome red and blue markings on his face. Golden emotionless eyes met hers. She panicked.

Tsuyara pushed herself away from him several feet. She was surprised to see that he didn't protest. He merely stood there, his face still held no emotion. It was then that she felt a strange lightness around her neck…

"My necklace!" she said out loud forgetting that the dog youkai was still there "my mother gave that to me." She cried out. She heard the dog sniff the air and he leapt high up to the top of the cliff. She didn't care at least he was gone. She hurried her search for her precious necklace. _'It must have come off during the fight.'_ She thought remembering the clinking noise that had hit the ground. Tears began to swell up in her eyes, that necklace was very dear to her. Just then, something landed close right behind her.

"Is this what you're looking for?" said a cold calm voice. Tsuyara twisted around and jumped. The dog youkai was back! A golden eye and snake encrusted with blue gems dangling from a golden chain, hung between his fingers. She snatched it from his grasp and held it close to her as she mumbled thanks to her gods. The dog youkai nodded and turned.

"You had better get those wounds bandaged." He said as he walked away. She hadn't noticed that her shoulder was bleeding.

She watched him walk away and felt something odd stir in her soul. This male just saved her. Never before had she experienced that. She looked down to her hands at the necklace and decided something she would never have done before.

…...

Sesshoumaru walked silently back to where Jaken and Rin sat waiting for him, both of whom very confused at his sudden disappearance. He had smelt the youkai Tsuyara near by and also the filthy sent of weasels. The sent of blood reached his nose soon after and he departed with out thinking, leaving Rin and Jaken to wait.

He felt, for some reason, empty. He had rescued her and retrieved her necklace that was apparently of grate value to her, yet she recoiled and did not thank him. He shook his head. _'I don't need to be thanked. I was just in the mood for a good kill'_ he told himself but something in the depths of his mind said other wise. _'You wanted to save her.' _it told him.

"But why?" he mumbled to him self out loud. He was thankful that neither Jaken nor Rin heard him.

As he rested his back on a tree he remained awake that night as Jaken and Rin slept recalling the way Tsuyara had stepped away form him. Yes, though he would not admit it, he was slightly hurt by her actions, but he was also curious as to why. Why would she fear someone who had just saved her? He was surprised to find that her sent had just reached his nose. At first he thought it was just his imagination, but as he looked ahead of him he saw her slowly appear into the fire light.

Sesshoumaru said nothing but just looked at her, his emotionless eyes taking in her features. She looked back at him for a quick moment looking as though trying to say something, but then moved her gaze away from him to the ground.

"Yes?" he asked his voice toneless.

"I just wanted to ask… I mean I wanted to—to say… thank you," She mumbled, "For saving me." Sesshoumaru shook his head.

"They were nothing more then weak youkai." He said.

"Then I must be a weaker youkai then they…" Tsuyara said quietly with sadness written on her face.

"I didn't say that." Sesshoumaru said quickly.

"Why did you save me?" she asked suddenly. "And why did you leave me alone?"

"I…" Sesshoumaru opened his mouth to reply but nothing came to him. "Come sit down." He said instead. She shook her head and didn't move.

"Why do you retaliate? I saved your life yet you fear me." He asked his tone as bored as usual. Tsuyara moved toward him, her tail barely moved as she walked as though tense. When she reached him she sat about two yards away from him. She looked into the fire, glancing at him from time to time.

"I've had bad experiences with males in my past… things like that stick with you always." She said her voice trembled slightly. Sesshoumaru looked sideways at her, a tear rolled down her cheek.

"Did a past love hurt you?" Sesshoumaru caught himself saying. Tsuyara shook her head.

"No, I have never met any one like that. Males just see me as a pleasurable object." She hissed silently. She glared into the fire as though it had hurt her. "Both Youkai and human…" she finished. Sesshoumaru gave her a questionable look

"My mother was killed when I was very young, too young to have learned any thing from her. I was taken in by a human farmer and I had assumed at the time that he was trying to be kind. But I was young and naïve. He abused me physically and sexually for many years till I could take no more and killed him. I left. On my journey I came across others that did the same." Her gaze remained in the fire. She didn't know why she was telling him this but it felt good in a way. Sesshoumaru felt a sickened feeling deep inside him, but something nagged at him.

"Why couldn't you have attacked them, fight them off?" he asked. She hesitated before answering.

"I—I told you, my mother died when I was little. I was just old enough to remember her giving me this necklace and that her name was Hannya. The only things I can fight with are my claws, fangs, and tail. The only power in know wouldn't help me in battle." She explained.

"And what is that?" Sesshoumaru asked.

"I can heal wounds both old and new… but I haven't been able to heal my self though." She said

"I suppose there's no point in healing your enemy if you're trying to save your own life." Sesshoumaru said with the faintest hint of sarcasm in his normally dull voice. Tsuyara smiled faintly, but it faded soon afterward.

"Is that why you are afraid of me, because I am male?" he asked her. She nodded.

"But I wasn't sure of your intentions afterwards; you had saved me then left me alone. That has never happened to me before. Usually if someone saves me, it was because they just wanted me in their bed." She said. "Not to sound vain or anything, but it seems I've inherited very attractive physical qualities." she mumbled bitterly

"I'm not like that." Sesshoumaru said defiantly. He didn't say anything about her last statement, but he found himself agreeing.

"I know that now, I suppose. I guess that's why I came to thank you." Tsuyara said looking at him for longer then a second for the first time. Sesshoumaru looked into her crimson eyes, he hadn't realized that they were normally that color. He felt heat rise in his cheeks and looked away.

'_What is this?'_ He asked himself as he felt his heart begin to pound in his chest. This only happened when he as near Tsuyara, but it seemed to be magnified now.

Tsuyara looked at him as he turned his eyes away form her. _'Is he blushing?' _she thought, his pale cheeks were going slightly red. She didn't know what to think of this and tried to come up with something to say so she could kill this awkward silence.

"By the way, I'm Tsuyara." She said.

"Sesshoumaru, Lord of the western lands."

"Well, thanks again Lord Sesshoumaru. I guess I'll be going now." Tsuyara said as she stood up. Sesshoumaru didn't move but before he could stop him self he said.

"You don't need to leave, you can stay if you would like."

"I did what I came for… I thanked you…" she began.

"Yes… but if you wish to stay… I could protect you…" Sesshoumaru said. It felt though as if he weren't saying it. Tsuyara looked at him both incredulously and thankfully.

"I don't…" she started to say.

"I wouldn't hurt you. I already said I'm not that type of person." Sesshoumaru said calmly. Tsuyara opened her mouth to reply but nothing came. She sat back down instead and nodded.

"All right"

*By the way, if anyone really cares or are interested. Weasel naturally eat snakes, (Tsuyara is a kind of snake or part snake. More on that later) they're quite good at hunting even the most venomous of snakes. And unless I'm not correct, I believe most have some immunity to many types of venom at least to some extent. Cool critters. :3 well there's my animal knowledge for the day. *

*I'm trying to figure out a way to post pictures or a link to pictures of my characters. And I can't seem to post links at all, fan fiction won't let me. And I don't know if I can post an actual picture into the story itself. If anyone knows the answers as to why or how let me know. Id like that but if you really want to see a drawing of my characters let me know via email for now and ill send you a link that way. *


	3. Questionable

*Disclaimer! I do not own Inuyasha or its characters. Tsuyara however is mine. No one may use her or any characters of my creation (of which I will introduce in the appropriate chapters) *

Chapter 3

Questionable

Tsuyara stayed with Sesshoumaru that night, somehow she was very grateful that he let her, but at the same time she wanted to leave, then again…she didn't. He said he would protect her, but she wasn't sure if she could take his word for it. She saw that there were others with him. A little human girl and a toad youkai were sleeping near the fire. Sesshoumaru said that they were his traveling companions as well as the dragon looking thing he called the Ah-Un. It sort of reassured her that he wouldn't harm her, though she wasn't sure why.

…...

Sesshoumaru only pretended to sleep that night. His heart remained to beat hard, and it beat faster when ever he glanced at the youkai girl, Tsuyara. Her appearance intrigued him for some reason. Especially her hair, the white color with a golden gleam was the first thing that caught his eye. He wanted to touch and feel its silky texture again, but dared not. He now knew why she had looked at him with such fear that night. She was afraid that he was going to harm her like so many others have done before. Something inside him wanted desperately to show Tsuyara that he really wasn't like that. The truth was he never really felt for a woman before. Rin was the only one he really cared for and she's just a child, a father-daughter relationship almost. It felt like that sometimes anyways.

Morning rose, and the sky was dabbed in pinks and oranges. Rin was the first to wake. She saw the female youkai and looked curiously at her. But before she could ask her lord Sesshoumaru, Jaken asked for her, but in a ruder tone then she would have used.

"Who is she? What is that demon doing here? Milord did you not see that there is…"

"Shut up Jaken" Sesshoumaru cut Jaken off dully. "She's coming with us."

"I am?" Tsuyara said suddenly with more of a yelp then she may have intended. Sesshoumaru looked around at her.

"If you wish to, that is." He paused, waiting for her to respond. She thought about his offer for a moment, she was unsure if she trusted him, but something inside her said that he could be trusted. Hoping she chose the right answer she obeyed her heart, and nodded.

"I guess."

Sesshoumaru smiled softly, and ignoring Jaken's sudden squawks of surprise and protest, he motioned for her to follow.

"Let's go." He said to his companions.

As they traveled, Tsuyara kept her distance but walked closer to Sesshoumaru then she normally would, it was strange to her. She felt safe around him somehow.

Sesshoumaru wondered why he allowed her to come with him; he knew that he would never do something like that. Then again he allowed Rin to join him. There was something about Tsuyara that he couldn't quite grasp; he assumed that that's why he allowed her to come, so he can figure out what intrigues him so much.

As he thought to himself, an unwelcome sent reached his nose. Inuyasha and his group were coming towards them. Sesshoumaru couldn't… no… wouldn't let his half brother know that Tsuyara was with him. He turned around to her.

"Someone's coming, you should hide." He said quickly. Tsuyara nodded and leapt into a tree, Sesshoumaru waited for Inuyasha to come. Apparently his brother hadn't realized that Sesshoumaru was there till just a few moments before he came into view. His companions close behind.

"Sesshoumaru! What are you doing here?" Inuyasha yelled. Sesshoumaru was ready to reply with his claws ready to cut flesh but…

"Wait! Sesshoumaru! I know these people, they're friends." Tsuyara had jumped down from her tree and walked up to Kagome and Sango. Sesshoumaru froze, he felt his cheeks heat up slightly. Inuyasha looked at him then at Tsuyara, a confused and amused look on his face. This is what Sesshoumaru was afraid of.

"What… is she…" Inuyasha started to ask, he looked like he was contemplating something in his head while pointing at Sesshoumaru then at Tsuyara, then at Sesshoumaru again. "What's Tsuyara doing with you?" he finally asked.

"I…" he began but Tsuyara answered before he could and Sesshoumaru felt suddenly sick.

"He saved me yesterday and said I can come with him." Tsuyara said. She knew nothing about the relationship Inuyasha and Sesshoumaru had with each other. Inuyasha saw Sesshoumaru's face go slightly more pink then it was and a big grin stretched across his face.

"Do you know each other?" Tsuyara asked.

"They're half brothers, but they don't get along very well." Kagome answered. Inuyasha was about to say something but Sesshoumaru took charge before he could.

"Tsuyara, we're going!" he said quickly and left through the trees, Tsuyara followed close behind after saying goodbye to Kagome and Sango.

"What was that about?" Miroku asked after words.

"There's no way!" Inuyasha howled

"'No way' what?" Sango asked.

"Didn't you see his face? The bastard was blushing!" Inuyasha said with a laugh. They all looked at each other and thought of the possibility.

…...

Sesshoumaru walked faster then he intended. All of his companions tried to keep up with him, all of whom were confused, but none as much as Tsuyara was. Jaken and Rin at least knew about the two brothers' pasts together.

"So Inuyasha's your brother?" Tsuyara asked when she caught up with him.

"_Half _brother" he said viciously. "He's a filthy half breed that brought my father to his demise."

"He… what?" Tsuyara asked. She was surprised by this sudden violent mood.

"I despise him. I despise all hanyous." He hissed. Tsuyara stopped. Sesshoumaru noticed that she was no longer walking beside him. He turned around and saw that she was now behind the Ah-Un. "Are you alright?" he asked, his voice once again cool and emotionless. Tsuyara nodded silently.

"I—I'm just tiered." She said. _'He probably hasn't sensed it either…' _she thought.

"You could ride on Au-Un's back, with Rin if you like." Sesshoumaru offered. Tsuyara shook her head.

"No… no I'm fine." She said quietly. Sesshoumaru nodded.

"If you wish" He said, turning around to continue walking.

Tsuyara remained behind the Au-Un for the rest of the day. When they stopped near a small pond she distanced her self from Sesshoumaru and his companions. Sesshoumaru was puzzled by this, yesterday she sat closer to him the she was now.

"Is something bothering you?" he asked. She looked up at him a bit startled and shook her head. "You've been very quiet ever since we ran into Inuyasha."

"It's nothing. I'm fine." She said. "I'm just still uneasy about being around a guy." She mumbled. Sesshoumaru nodded, showing her that he understood. Rin ran over to Tsuyara with a big smile.

"I'm a girl, come sit with me!" she said cheerfully. Tsuyara smiled back and nodded.

"Alright,"

Rin held onto Tsuyara's hand and lead her towards Sesshoumaru and Jaken.

"It looks like you found a friend Rin." Sesshoumaru said looking over at the child. He glanced up at Tsuyara who was smiling vaguely, but she looked like her thoughts were elsewhere.

"Rin, why don't you go pick some wild flowers." Sesshoumaru suggested.

"Ok!" she said.

"Jaken, you go with her." he added, looking at the toad. As the two disappeared into the trees, Sesshoumaru turned to Tsuyara.

"If you want to leave, you can." He said quietly.

"Do you want me to?" she asked not looking at him.

"No. You just seem… like you don't want to be here." Sesshoumaru said, trying to look at her eye to eye. Tsuyara said nothing; instead she stood up and walked to the pond, looking at her reflection in its calm water.

"I want to stay…" she began. Sesshoumaru stood up, walking over to stand beside her.

"But you're not sure about me are you?" Sesshoumaru asked. She nodded. "It's understandable. You just met me. You don't know if I can be trusted or not. My being kind to you may all be a lie." He said, she looked around at him, a hint of fear flashed across her eyes. "It's not," He finished. Tsuyara smiled and looked back at the water.

"You must think I'm a coward." She mumbled. "I can't defend my self, and I'm afraid of someone who saved me…"

Sesshoumaru put a hand on Tsuyara's shoulder, (he was surprised that she didn't flinch.) but before he could say anything, Rin and Jaken had returned. It made Tsuyara jump… she slipped into the water, bringing Sesshoumaru with her.

They resurfaced at the same time. Their faces were just an inch away from one another. For one long second, golden eyes stared into crimson… then Sesshoumaru regained movement in his legs and he leapt out of the water, his face bright red. Tsuyara soon stepped out of the water, she too was blushing.

"And… I scare over something like that." She laughed nervously. Sesshoumaru gave a smirk in agreement as he ringed out his mokomoko.

That night Sesshoumaru and Tsuyara sat across from each other, a bright fire between them. Tsuyara was teaching Rin how to tie the wild flowers she found earlier into little crowns and lays. As he watched her and Rin a random thought crossed his mind _'she seems good with children.'_ He caught his words and shook his head. Jaken eyed him suspiciously.

"Milord, may I ask something?" the toad asked. Sesshoumaru looked at him with a slight glare; he had an idea of what the little imp was going to ask but answered anyways

"You may." He nodded.

"I—I was wondering what your intentions are with this youkai. Why did you allow her to join us?" Jaken asked carefully. Sesshoumaru didn't answer right away. He looked over at Tsuyara again, she had done the same; their eyes meet and a bashful smile crossed Tsuyara's face before she returned her gaze to the flowers in her hands. Sesshoumaru sighed.

"I'm not sure, Jaken." He smiled vaguely, his soft gaze still on the girl in question. Jaken looked up at his master incredulously.

"You have never been unsure of something before milord… is something a matter? Do you like this Tsuyara for some reason?" the toad dared to ask. Sesshoumaru glanced at Jaken, his cheeks had gone a little red but he did not respond. Looking back at Tsuyara questions filled his mind. _'Is that what this is? No… that's a human emotion this Sesshoumaru dose not like Tsuyara I just…'_ she looked so peaceful playing with Rin. Her smile was so peaceful…

"Milord?" Jaken persisted. Sesshoumaru shook his head at the toad with a faint smile and said nothing more.

The fire died out and Rin fell asleep in Tsuyara's arms soon after. Jaken had taken to sleep not long after his questionings with Sesshoumaru. Tsuyara stood up and sat by Sesshoumaru handing the sleeping girl to him.

"She's a sweet girl." She told him quietly. "Why is it that she's with you?" she asked looking into Sesshoumaru's eyes.

'_The same reason you're here… to protect her…' _Sesshoumaru instantly thought. But he didn't bring him self to tell her that… "She kept getting her self into trouble. I keep her out of trouble." Sesshoumaru answered stubbornly. Tsuyara was silent for some time, looking into the fire, deep in thought.

"Why did you let me stay then?" she whispered gently. Sesshoumaru glanced at her quickly, a blush threatening to cross his face.

"You attract trouble too." He said hastily, keeping his gaze anywhere but on her. Tsuyara made a soft but incredulous noise, and smiled sweetly.

"I think I'll be going to sleep now, too." She said looking at Jaken and Rin.

"Uh, sure," Sesshoumaru mumbled. Tsuyara smiled at him once more before leaping into the tree above.

*Please Review!*


	4. Choice

*Disclaimer! I do not own Inuyasha or its characters. Tsuyara however is mine. No one may use her or any characters of my creation (of which I will introduce in the appropriate chapters) *

Chapter 4

Choice

Tsuyara became more talkative as she traveled with Sesshoumaru and his company. Though she kept her distance, she seemed comfortable around him. For that, he was grateful, she would no longer flinch if he touched her, or if he spoke to her, it was almost as if that incident in the water opened some kind of door inside of Tsuyara. But as she became comfortable, Sesshoumaru became more… embarrassed around the snake girl. He couldn't explain the way he felt about her to himself, and would deny the truths of it… love was a human emotion.

One day though, Tsuyara became uneasy around him, more so then she had since he offered for her to come with him. Sesshoumaru asked several times that day if she was ok and she answered with the same thing every time.

"There's nothing wrong… I'm ok."

Before dusk that night, Tsuyara stood up and looked at Sesshoumaru in a strange sort of grimace. His eyes dashed over her expression and he could smell the anxiety within her.

"Are you sure there's nothing wrong? You've been acting very strange today." He asked calmly. Tsuyara sighed and shook her head.

"… I'm just… I don't know I need to leave for a while." She said quietly avoiding his golden eyes. Sesshoumaru raised an eyebrow in an incredulous way.

"I thought you enjoyed our company." He indicated nodding toward Rin in particular, who was laughing at Jaken for some reason. Tsuyara nodded again but had a pained look on her face.

"I'm just not sure…" she paused, thinking to her self "if I made the right choice coming with you."

Sesshoumaru thought about her words for a moment before opening his mouth to speak… but he couldn't think of anything to say. He had asked several times in the past if she really wanted to stay with him or not, each time she said she would but maybe she's not sure of it now. So instead of saying anything he simply nodded.

"Just let me spend the night alone." She said softly "if I come back in the morning we'll both know that I want to stay." Sesshoumaru nodded again, slowly

"Will you be safe on your own?" he asked

"I'll manage." Tsuyara assured him. Sesshoumaru looked at her concernedly.

"If you need help… call for me." he said with an emotionless tone, but his eyes pleaded with her. She nodded again.

"I will" she promised.

As she turned to walk away she grimaced within her self at a thought… _I won't be able to hide this for long.'_ She thought_ 'and I can't lie to him… but for now just survive the night.'_

Sesshoumaru sighed as the sun hid behind the horizon. This would be the first time in a month that Tsuyara wasn't with him through the night. Whether he liked her or not, he still became fond of the female youkai, and just as he cared for Rin, he feared for Tsuyara's protection as well. _'But the thing is Tsuyara is a grown demon, Rin is just a human child. Tsuyara can take care of her self if she wasn't so clumsy…'_ Sesshoumaru laughed. That's why he wanted to watch over her. She was clumsy for a youkai; also she had told him before that she didn't know much about her powers _'I won't let anything happen to her.'_

All through the night, Sesshoumaru had to stop himself from going after Tsuyara. He wanted to make sure that she was alright, but something in her eyes when she asked to leave had begged and pleaded with him not to follow. So he forced himself to stay where he was. _'If she doesn't return in the morning, I'll go find her.'_

Rin moved in her sleep, and Sesshoumaru sighed as he remembered the child's questioning eyes as Tsuyara disappeared into the trees.

"_She'll be back in the morning, just go to sleep and you'll wake finding her here."_ He had said to comfort Rin. The little girl had grown greatly found of the youkai. Tsuyara was almost a mother to Rin and the feminine companionship must have been welcomed greatly since Rin had traveled with himself and Jaken for so long.

Looking up to the sky, Sesshoumaru sighed at the full moon that lit the night. The way it glowed reminded him of the strange color of Tsuyara's waist length hair. The golden gleam of each white strand intrigued him so much, and he didn't know why. His thoughts trailed off to her eyes, remembering their natural crimson glow. The way she looked at him… it wasn't like any other female had ever looked at him. Her eyes, despite the odd red color, seemed almost human with their emotions. He's seen that same look in Rin's eyes when the little girl looked up to him for comfort. He's even seen it in the miko, Kagome when he's in battle with his baka brother. That same look… the look of concern for Inuyasha. Maybe it was a female thing. He wasn't sure; all he knew was that her eyes showed caring. As he thought of her his mind trailed to her tail… he laughed silently to himself. It was an interesting tail; it didn't suit her that much. The black color for one clashed with her golden white hair. And the blade seemed a bit formidable. But he liked it anyways, the way it swayed behind her when she walked, and the way she would wrap it around her when she sat down, and slept, or how it twitched when she was irritated. Her paws confused him. He didn't know what kind of youkai she was; just that she was a type of snake. Yet she walked upon two small, agile, feline paws. Perhaps she was half cat. Though he didn't need to see her feet to assume that. Despite being clumsy, she moved with an unusual grace, a grace that drew his attention more then once without his knowledge.

He laughed out loud at himself. He was thinking of Tsuyara in a way he never thought he would… shaking his head he leapt into the tree above to wait out the rest of the night. He closed his eyes and the image of Tsuyara continued to fill his mind, he couldn't help but smile.

As Sesshoumaru peacefully thought of Tsuyara through the night… Tsuyara, needless to say, would grimace every time she thought of him as the hours passed. As she sat high in a tree she glared at the full moon while twiddling her fingers around her now raven black hair. _Half breed_. Though for some unnamed reason no demon could sense it… at all. She was so frightened of Sesshoumaru when he had said his feelings toward his brother Inuyasha, and how he despised hanyous, that at the time she wanted to distance her self as far from him as she could without him noticing anything strange. It was unnerving to her how he would react if he found out. _Would I be able to run way every full moon without him realizing anything?_ She grimaced again at the thought and growled. No, she couldn't… _'I'll leave in the morning, maybe he won't find me. Ra I was so stupid to follow him!'_ She hissed inwardly at her self. Racking her hands through her black hair she sighed again, her now deep blue-green eyes showered with disappointment and worry. _'I'll miss that human child, Rin. She's such a sweet girl.' _She smiled, remembering the way the child openly smiled at her and spoke to her. Being around a youkai like Sesshoumaru, she assumed that Rin was comfortable around others. But it was comforting to know that Rin had trusted her. Humans often chased her down…

Her thoughts trailed to those moments at the pond. The way he looked at her… and when they resurfaced after she slipped in… Tsuyara couldn't help but laugh. They were so close that if they were any closer they would have been kissing, and the blush on his face was almost comforting in a way. She also remembered that first night she spent in his presence. He had said that he would protect her… a numb feeling swelled up inside her chest that was overwhelming. It pained her to remember those words. She took in a deep broken breath and released it slowly; trying to hold back the tears that threatened to fall. _'Would he still want to protect me if he saw me now?' _

A sudden rustle of leaves jerked her out of her worried mind and she twisted around to find the source of the noise. It was nothing more then an owl. She sighed deeply, grateful that it was just a bird. Being out here alone on this night was nothing new to her but she was more defenseless now then she is any other time. She couldn't help but think how much better she could rest if Sesshoumaru would protect her in this state. She laughed at her self incredulously

"Only a dream, Tsuyara… you'd better forget that dream now before it hurts you in the end." She told her self angrily. "Because it will"

'_I should have just gone on my way after he saved me at that cliff… I should have just left and forgot him.'_

A tear escaped and rolled down her cheek…

When morning came, Sesshoumaru looked hopefully towards the trees where Tsuyara had traveled. He hoped beyond anything else that she would be returning soon. The sound of muffled sobbing reached his ears and he looked down at Rin, she had woken. Sesshoumaru winced, he had promised her that Tsuyara would be there when she woke up… but the captivating snake youkai was not there. Jaken tried to stop her crying but was failing miserably. Sesshoumaru jumped down next to Rin and held the sobbing child.

"Lord Sesshoumaru, Tsuyara's not back yet! Why didn't she come back?" she wailed staring up at him.

"I don't know." He said as he tried to comfort the girl. "But I'll find out." He assured her with a definite tone. Rin looked pleadingly into his eyes, rubbing her tears off her cheek.

"You'll go get her?" she asked. Sesshoumaru nodded.

"Jaken, watch Rin for me, I have someone to track down this morning." He said, Jaken looked questionably at him but Sesshoumaru shot him an I-dare-you-to-ask sort of glare and Jaken nodded instantly without a word.

As Sesshoumaru jumped into the sky, sniffing for Tsuyara's sent, he growled at her even though she was not there to hear it. The look on Rin's face this morning was one thing… but he had told Tsuyara that he would protect her, that he wouldn't harm her. He wanted to yell at her when he found her… but a voice told him that that wasn't a good idea.

'_Besides, you did tell her she could leave when ever she wanted. She's not yours either…'_ he told himself, but he had to find her for some reason. He didn't know why… it wasn't like him either and he knew it. But he had to…

The sent that he was searching for came to him and he landed in a tree to get a better hold on her aroma. Her sent was a strange one, it was sandy and warm. But it made sense; she did come from Egypt, which he had heard was practically nothing but a sandy desert. But it did have an unknown floral sent mingled within it. As Tsuyara's sent wafted to him he could smell the salt of dried up tears tangled in her sandy smell. Was she crying during the night? His heart beat a little faster as the need to find her grew. '_Why was she crying?' _

Her sent grew deeper as he moved in the direction that it led him in. then he saw her sitting against a tree. Her hands were in her golden white hair, and her face was hidden from leaning her head on her knees. A gentle sob reached his sensitive ears, and the salty smell reached him again… but this time it was fresh, why did it pain him to see her like that? A muffled sound caught him.

"Why was I so stupid?" Tsuyara had muttered between sobs. "I didn't really want to leave…but…"

"Then why did you?"

Tsuyara jumped, twisting around to meet Sesshoumaru's eyes. She looked fearful and torn. She looked happy yet hurt that he was there.

"W-what… are you doing… here?" she asked brokenly.

"You didn't return so I came to get you." Sesshoumaru said a little more sternly then he wanted. Tsuyara closed her eyes tight as she turned her head away from him and choked out several loud sobs.

"Why did you leave?" he asked softly. She shook her head, and Sesshoumaru knew that she wasn't going to tell him. He stepped toward her and kneeled down in front of her looking into her red eyes, asking with his gaze for her to tell him what she refused to tell.

"I… I… you're a male… I" she began to explain but he sensed that she was lying. That was no longer the reason, he had a feeling that it hadn't been since the pond. The look in his golden eyes told her that.

"I don't want to tell you…" she sobbed out in a silent whisper almost too low for Sesshoumaru to hear. "… I'm afraid." She buried her head in her knees again and continued to cry. Sesshoumaru didn't know what she was afraid to tell him but at that very moment it didn't mater to him. Without realizing it… or more, without caring what his usual person felt for this sort of thing, he pulled her forward into his chest and cradled her with his one arm. Her sobbing intensified as she leaned her head on his chest. He was surprised that she didn't flinch, or retaliate from his actions; instead it seemed that despite her better judgment, she welcomed the contact.

"If you don't want to tell me… you don't need to." Sesshoumaru found himself saying as he brushed his hand through her gleaming hair.

"I'm sorry" she breathed out with a muffled sob.

"Don't be" he whispered in her ear.

Sesshoumaru closed his eyes and leaned his head on the top of hers while she cried into his chest. He couldn't explain it but he didn't care. All he wanted to do right then was hold her. All thought left him as he held her there. The glossy touch of her hair beneath his fingers and her gentle sobbing was all he knew.

*hey so I figured out how to show you guys (my readers) drawings I've done of my characters. If you look in my profile thingy and click my homepage it should send you to my account on Deviant Art. Click on my gallery and type in what you want to look for in the **search gallery **box (not the main one that isn't gonna help you.) first you should type in **Tsuyara** and a few pictures of her will show up pulse some other stuff relating to her. I'm working on a few more up to date pictures of her with a newer style I'll have to let you know when that's up. Feel free to brose my gallery too if you like. Yeah I drew these; I'm a better artist then an author in my opinion. But I'm practicing with my written skills they really lack. (grammar mostly I think, and if it weren't for spell check id be in trouble .) anyways I will let you know what to type in the search box when a new character or maybe even a scene I've done comes up. Hope you enjoy. Oh and if you have ANY questions ask me I'll try and answer them*


	5. Heart Race

*Disclaimer! I do not own Inuyasha or its characters. Tsuyara however is mine. No one may use her or any characters of my creation (of which I will introduce in the appropriate chapters) *

Chapter 5

Heart Race

As the morning grew into early noon, Sesshoumaru continued to hold Tsuyara with him, leaning against the tree with her cuddled against his chest. After her sobbing subsided she remained quite for most of the morning as her tear drenched cheeks dried and cleared. She sighed softly and looked up at Sesshoumaru, his eyes and been on her most of the morning.

"Sesshoumaru… I don't want to tell you…" she began her voice, though even, it was sad and forced.

"I said you don't need to." He reminded her gently.

"Yes… but I know that you'll find out later… so I'm asking you, when you do… please don't be angry with me…" she mumbled to his chest. He could tell that though she was afraid to say anything something in her wanted to, just not now.

"I promise." He said. He didn't care what it was as long as she stayed with him.

Tsuyara hoped desperately in her mind that he would keep his promise.

After another few moments of silence, Sesshoumaru finally spoke.

"I should take you back now… I got what I came for and Rin misses you." He said smiling down at her. She couldn't help but smile vaguely back.

Tsuyara was quite on their way back, but she couldn't help but ask about something she noticed.

"Sesshoumaru, what happened to that arm anyways?" Tsuyara said pointing to his shoulder. Sesshoumaru glanced at her with surprise; the sudden words that came from her would have made him jump if he wasn't a youkai. Giving his shoulder little more then a glance he shrugged.

"That stupid brother of mine cut it off in one of our brawls." He said casually as if it were a mere scratch. "I've never really thought about it much." Tsuyara raised an eyebrow at him.

"Ever?" she asked.

"No… not really," Sesshoumaru said again looking, taking his turn to raise an eyebrow. Tsuyara drew her gaze away from him and looked to be thinking hard. For a few moments she didn't speak.

"I could heal that… if you want." She said thoughtfully. Sesshoumaru tilted his head. "Remember, it's the one thing I know how to do that my kind dose." She reminded him, he nodded vaguely

"Yes, but it doesn't bother me."

She scratched her head behind her ear bashfully looking at him with a sort of childish pout.

"It'll be my way of saying thanks." She persisted.

"Thanks for what?" Sesshoumaru sighed, his emotionless tone still in place.

"For helping me… for letting me stay…" Tsuyara reminded. Sesshoumaru rolled his eyes.

"What ever."

Tsuyara smiled. She stepped up to him and placed both hands on his shoulder. He looked into her downcast eyes, brow raised. He caught himself looking over her features, particularly her golden hair… Her stance wavered suddenly, he was so engulfed by her form that he nearly forgot what she was doing… she fell into his arms as she passed out.

Tsuyara blinked as curious brown eyes looked directly over her. She sensed eyes on her just a moment before and woke because of it. Lifting her self up with her elbows she smiled at Rin who squealed in delight.

"Milord, she's awake now!"

Tsuyara turned her head toward the direction that Rin ran in. Sesshoumaru wasn't very far away, sitting under a tree with his back against the trunk, arms folded, and looking irritably concerned.

"Are you all right Tesu?" he asked, his tone even, though his eyes flashed up to hers. Tsuyara was about to answer but she stopped.

"Tesu?" she asked tilting her head. Sesshoumaru rolled his eyes irritably since she hadn't answered his question first.

"It's what Rin started calling you, it was fitting, and I like the way it roles off my tongue." Sesshoumaru explained. Tsuyara looked at him, wondering if he knew how that sounded to her… it didn't look like he noticed. She ignored it and became curious about something else.

"How long was I out any ways?" she asked. Sesshoumaru's shoulders slumped… she hadn't answered his question yet.

"An hour… now will you tell me why?" he asked with a bit of a growl in his usually level voice.

"An hour? Hmm… usually I'm out longer then that… maybe it was because you're a youkai…" she said mostly to her self then him.

"_You knew that would happen?" _

"Yes… every time I heal someone I pass out." She explained so casually that it bugged him.

"Why didn't you say anything?" he asked, golden eyes barring down into red.

"You wouldn't have let me." She said plainly.

"How'd you… why would you think that?" Sesshoumaru stuttered.

"Because… you said you'd protect me, if I told you that that would happen you would have said no." she said giving him a smile that said 'but I wanted to. You weren't going to stop me' Sesshoumaru said nothing. Snorting in a disapproving manner he leaned his head against the tree and folded his arms, eyes flashing at her in a mulish sort of way. Tsuyara sent him a victorious smile and turned to play with Rin.

As night descended, Sesshoumaru watched as Rin fell asleep in Tsuyara's arms. She was leaning up against a tree opposite from him, eyes closed and apparently asleep also. While he watched her all thought of his frustration with her earlier seemed to vanish; he took in every detail of her sleeping form… her scaly black tail that was wrapped around herself and the sleeping Rin… the steady rise and fall of her chest as she breathed, the way the moonlight shone on her hair as if each individual strand had a glow of its own.

He hadn't noticed just how close he had moved towards Tsuyara. Staring down at her he was captivated by her beauty… reaching out to touch her as he whispered.

"Kami she's beautiful..."

"I'm not asleep you know."

Sesshoumaru jumped back, relinquishing his hand as a shade of red spread across his face. Tsuyara sniffed out a laugh… she had been awake the entire time. He didn't like the look on her face very much either. There was an obvious mix of confusion and shock… but it was that faintest hint of amusement behind her lips that made his heart race painfully in his chest and the tint of red on his cheeks deepen in its shade.

'_Damn it she heard me!'_ he cursed at himself.

"You think I'm beautiful?" Tsuyara asked raising an eyebrow. Sesshoumaru said nothing; instead he chose to focus his gaze on the Ah-Un trying to ignore her.

"Milord?" Tsuyara tilted her head at him, the vague grin still visible. Sesshoumaru gave her a sideways glance. His cheeks burned red exceedingly the longer the snake youkais crimson eyes rested upon him. She moved Rin from her lap and laid her carefully on the ground before stepping towards Sesshoumaru. "You're blushing."

Sesshoumaru made an irritated noise and glared at her stubbornly. "I am not… its dark, your probably seeing things." He insisted. Tsuyara looked ready to laugh.

"Snakes don't need to see in the dark to know that someone is blushing. We can sense heat in pure darkness." She informed him. Sesshoumaru mumbled several choice words under his breath. Tsuyara sat down in front of him, moving a few strands of silvery hair from his face. He shivered when her hand brushed against his skin. A feeling he wasn't familiar with raced through his entire body. It was like cold hands wrapped around him, his chest hurt from the rapid beating of his heart, everything around him seemed to vanish completely, his senses dulled… but it all felt wonderful… he moved away from her, his face now as red as his brothers kimono.

"Sesshoumaru, I want you to know that I'm grateful for how you've treated me." Tsuyara said quietly, her gaze now on the ground in front of her. "I've been with you longer then I ever had been with one male since I left that retched master of mine, and you haven't touched me." She paused… then appeared to have nothing else to say.

"I told you I'm not like that other slime." Sesshoumaru said looking sideways at her.

"I don't think I'm afraid of you anymore…" Tsuyara whispered, looking up to meet his face. The moonlight dancing in her crimson eyes added to her beauty.

"… Good" Sesshoumaru replied feebly. this whole day was beyond what he wished to handle, what with searching for Tsuyara this morning with out any real reason, holding her while she cried, worrying about her when she fainted… saying _out loud_ that he thought she was beautiful… and…

Tsuyara moved forward towards him again. Kneeling down in front of him, she leaned forward pressing her lips on his cheek… Sesshoumaru froze; he had to force himself to fight off the overwhelming desire that just rose up inside him to return her gesture in a more profound way.

"Thanks." Tsuyara smiled, staring into the Youkai Lords amber eyes. She couldn't explain it; she shunned to think of his reaction if he found that she was a hanyou, however, she felt so safe around Sesshoumaru that she wanted to be closer to him. But the kiss was completely against her nature…

"Uh… y-you're welcome." Sesshoumaru managed to say. The rest of his body refused to move.

"Would you hold me again?" Tsuyara asked

"What?"

"Like you did this morning… when you were holding me I felt as though nothing could ever hurt me again… I felt safe." She whispered, starring over her shoulder now, unsure of his answer. Sesshoumaru didn't speak, instead he nodded.

Sesshoumaru was surprised by her request but he didn't feel like saying no. he leaned against the tree that was now inches behind his back, bringing Tsuyara with him. As she leaned her head against his chest, he stroked her back gently with his claws, sending shivers down her spine. She returned the pleasure by nuzzling his cheekbone…

Through the night they remained in each others embrace, simply sitting there under the tree at which they sat. Sesshoumaru's mind cleared pleasantly as he found himself drifting to sleep with Tsuyara following suit in his arms.

*Please review!*


	6. Beyond His Comfort Zone

*Disclaimer! I do not own Inuyasha or its characters. Tsuyara however is mine. No one may use her or any characters of my creation (of which I will introduce in the appropriate chapters) *

Chapter 6

Beyond his comfort zone

Sesshoumaru could hear his name being said somewhere in the midst of his mind, an irritating voice that he hated so much was calling him, he could feel Tsuyara's weight still on his lap, she was poking him for some reason, to see what the problem was he opened his eyes… and froze.

Standing around the two of them huddled together against their tree was Jaken, Rin… and to Sesshoumaru's horror… Inuyasha, Sango, Miroku, Kagome and Shippou. How they had gotten there without him knowing had been a complete mystery to him but he didn't give a damn at the moment, it was the very fact that they were there… at that moment…

The looks on all of their faces was total bewilderment, but each person had some other emotion hidden behind their eyes. Jaken was either appalled or unsure if he was awake or dreaming, Kagome and Sango looked almost giddy as they pried Tsuyara from him and started talking like women are known to do about this kind of situation, Miroku looked almost envious but relatively surprised, Rin and Shippou didn't bug him to much they just looked confused… Inuyasha though… well he didn't like Inuyasha's look one bit, his half brother looked as if he was ready to burst into tears of hysteria… he practically did.

"What the hell have _you_ been up to!" he blabbed out

"Nothing! She…I… it's not of your concern mutt!" Sesshoumaru defended.

"The hell it isn't… this is interesting." Inuyasha's grin seemed to stretch further then was physically possible.

"Nothings 'interesting' about this… we just fell asleep!" Sesshoumaru growled. This only seemed to make Inuyasha happier then he already was over the entire thing.

"Oh yeah? So tell me, how did you get into that position in the first place, huh?"

"Uh…"

"Protecting me, he promised to protect me the night we met." Tsuyara stepped in saving Sesshoumaru the problem. Inuyasha looked like he soaked in those words down to the core. He looked like he wanted to say something about why he was protecting her, but chose not to.

"From what?" he said instead, Tsuyara began to answer but nothing came from her mouth… a slight blush tainted her tan skin. As Inuyasha tried to get answers from Tsuyara, while still avoiding her striking range, Miroku took his turn to question Sesshoumaru.

"Your hiding something, both of you are." Miroku said questionably, a small glimmer of pervertedness visible in his grin. Something uncontrollable rose up in Sesshoumaru as the monk continued his gaze and the words escaped his mouth before he could stop them.

"_I didn't kiss her she kissed me!"_

Complete silence was the only sound till Tsuyara attempted, again, to take things into her own hands.

"_On the cheek_, it was merely a gesture of thanks." She said sending a reassuring glance at Sesshoumaru. For some reason Sesshoumaru felt that Tsuyara understood his turmoil of his brothers taunting and was trying to help. Too bad it didn't work well…Inuyasha looked from Tsuyara and Sesshoumaru, a silver eyebrow rising at the both of them.

"If that's all it was then why are you making such a big deal out of it?" he finally said turning to his brother. Sesshoumaru refused to speak and glared utter hatred towards the younger dog, but he couldn't control the scarlet color that etched deeper into his face. Comprehension had apparently dawned on Inuyasha, seeing as his stupid grin found its way back onto the hanyous face. A fit of hysterical laughter suddenly escalated form him as he fell to the ground.

"YOU'R IN LOVE WITH TSUYARA!" he chocked out between a laugh and a gulp for air.

"WHAT? NO!" Sesshoumaru yelled in protest.

"You love Tsuyara! You love Tsuyara!" Inuyasha chanted as he pranced dangerously around his brother.

"In—Inuyasha!" Sesshoumaru growled, holding his clawed hand in the air ready to strike. But Inuyasha didn't stop at the warning; no… he continued his goading. Sesshoumaru's eyes started glowing red…

"SIT!"

The necklace around Inuyasha's neck started glowing and he was slammed into the ground. Sesshoumaru let out a relived but frustrated sigh as he turned to Kagome.

"That's the one thing I like about you Miko." He said with an air of arrogance. Kagome looked at him confused.

"Am I supposed to say thank you or your welcome?" she asked stupidly. Sango leaned over to her.

"The question is: was that a complement or an insult?" she whispered. Kagome tired to reply but didn't have the chance, Inuyasha started growling and leapt form the crater he was in, glaring.

"WHAT THE HELL WAS THAT FOR!" he yelled. Kagome glared right back at him.

"He was about to rip your head off!" she yelled back. Sesshoumaru looked like he was planning to do just that too, as he glared at his irritating brother, arms folded.

"Besides I think it's cute." Kagome smiled.

"WHAT!" Sesshoumaru screeched. He couldn't take much more of this, I one quick movement he jumped into the air and raced away through the trees leaving Tsuyara with Inuyasha's gang.

Inuyasha started laughing again but his amusement was shortened by one sharp blow to the head by something blunt, making him fall over. Cursing he looked up at the source of his pain… Tsuyara was fuming, her red eyes now glowing more brilliantly; she had used her tail to inflict pain on him.

"Men!" she hissed, glaring down at him. "You consider your self lucky that all I did was hit you, you flagrant dog!"

Inuyasha looked dumbfounded by her reaction as she turned to Kagome and Sango.

"I'll be right back. Ok?" she said before she followed after Sesshoumaru.

The seven that Sesshoumaru and Tsuyara left behind, stood there in wonder and amusement (except for Jaken, he was in complete shock)

"Do you think he loves her or do you think we just caught them at a wired moment and overreacted?"

"Overreacted" Miroku said. "He's not the type to love."

"Love! Lord Sesshoumaru would never let him self to fall for petty human emotions!" Jaken squawked but he was more or less ignored. Inuyasha though looked dubious.

"We'll have to wait and see…"

…...

Tsuyara jumped from tree to tree looking for Sesshoumaru. At the same time she felt extremely irritated with Inuyasha. The way he taunted Sesshoumaru…

Soon she found him standing in a tree, He looked extremely irritable with his arms folded, leaning against the trunk, and tapping his foot, not to mention the shade of red on his face. Tsuyara smiled.

"Sesshoumaru?" she said, jumping to his tree and landing in front of him. Sesshoumaru gave her this really weird look before turning his head away with a defeated and annoyed grunt.

"Why are you angry at me? I defended you." Tsuyara complained comically. Sesshoumaru's head sunk as he looked at her again.

"I'm not angry at you…" he half whispered. Tsuyara raised an eyebrow. "But you're the reason that damn hanyou was taunting me." He finished off looking down at his feet. Tsuyara rolled her eyes and tapped him sympathetically on the head.

"Whose fault is that?" she grinned. Sesshoumaru looked up at her with his eyebrow raised.

"What do you mean?"

"Who was the one who said I can stay with him?"

"Me… but you…"

"Who said they'd protect me?"

"I did…but you could have…"

"Who came to look for me when I left?"

"I… but Rin…"

"The fact is you could have told me to go the moment I came to thank you."

"Hey! You're the one who chose to come back!"

"Yes, to thank you and leave… but for some reason you wanted me to stay… though…" Sesshoumaru grimaced "I think Inuyasha may have answered that for me today..." she looked at him intently, waiting for him to answer.

"Well… he… Inuyasha… Inuyasha comes to conclusions way too fast…" he tried to explain, avoiding her eyes.

"Maybe, But he's right isn't he?"

"… I saw you that first time and nothing seemed to take you from my mind. That's why I followed you that one night, that's why I saved you… why I wanted you to stay. I felt something strange about you and wanted to know what it was." Sesshoumaru said, looking away from her and off into the distance.

"You're just too stubborn to admit it to your self let alone me or anyone else, right?" Tsuyara finished. Sesshoumaru nodded vaguely, and then looked at her with a sort of pout.

"This is just between me and you ok? Inuyasha won't know that he's right?" he asked.

"My lips are sealed." Tsuyara promised. "But I promised Kagome and Sango that I'd come back. Do you want to come with me?" Sesshoumaru shook his head furiously.

…...

Sango was in the process of slapping the monk for putting his hands where they weren't meant to be when Tsuyara returned alone.

"So he was too embarrassed to come back?" Inuyasha smirked. Tsuyara flashed her claws at him.

"No, he doesn't feel like killing you in front of Rin." Tsuyara lied. "He doesn't think she should see something like that at her age."

"Cowered" Inuyasha mumbled under his breath.

"Don't make me do it for him." Tsuyara hissed. "Sesshoumaru was flustered because the thought was so appalling to him that he couldn't think strait."

Inuyasha raised an eyebrow but looked like he bought it. "What ever." He said waving his hand in an 'I don't care' sort of way. As he turned away Sango grabbed Tsuyara's arm, turning her towards her and Kagome. They lead her out of ears reach from the boys.

"Is that really what he said? Sesshoumaru I mean." Sango asked.

"Yeah, something tells me that the whole 'he was so appalled' thing was... well it just doesn't seem to fit." Kagome said eyeing Tsuyara. The snake grinned.

"Not telling."

*so it's been a while since I posted last. I've been busy and lazy. . but here is the next chapter I hope you like it. Oh and I have a picture you might find amusing. You should check it out. :D go to my homepage. Click on gallery. Type in the words "modern cloths" in the search box (the search gallery box, not the main one.) and you should find it. If not let me know in a review or something.


	7. Takes One To Know One

*Disclaimer! I do not own Inuyasha or its characters. Tsuyara however is mine. No one may use her or any characters of my creation (of which I will introduce in the appropriate chapters) *

Chapter 7

Takes one to know one

"Don't you think the boys will peek?" Tsuyara asked nervously as she joined Sango and Kagome in the warm pool of water. Sango gave an odd laugh and folded her arms.

"Probably, but its Miroku you want to watch out for." Kagome informed.

"Somehow that doesn't surprise me." Tsuyara mumbled.

"Letch" Sango cursed under her breath.

…...

'_I'm going to kill my self for this...'_ Sesshoumaru told him self as he followed the snake girls scent. He knew she was with his damned brother and those humans but it was strange not being around her… besides he wasn't going to let a stupid hanyou keep him away from anything. Thankfully he found that her scent was well away form Inuyasha's, the two human girls were with Tesu but that barely registered in his mind, even less did the smell of steaming water.

Her scent, Tsuyara's sandy, flowery scent… that was the only thing he focused on, the only thing. As he followed it, it grew stronger and stronger till soon her voice flooded his ears. What she was saying was a blur to him but it called to him. Without warning he saw her, her back was facing him, the two humans across from her… they were in a hot spring… his senses came back quickly, hitting him like a ton of bricks. He hid thanking the gods that there were plenty of shrubberies to conceal him. He forced himself to look away, closing his eyes and taking slow easy breaths. _'What have I gotten my self into?' _he cursed at him self. He tried to focus his mind elsewhere but the mention of his name caught him.

"Tsuyara, how come you went back to say thank you to Sesshoumaru? I mean I thought you didn't trust men at all." He heard Sango say.

"Yeah, and Sesshoumaru of all people, he's not exactly a nice guy. Sure he helped Rin but no one knows why." Kagome agreed

'_Not a nice guy?'_ he thought… was the miko right?

"He- he's been nice to me… from the beginning. But…" Tsuyara trailed off, Sesshoumaru listened in more closely.

"But what?" both humans edged her in unison.

"I-I have this… this secret… if he ever found out… h-he'd kill me for sure" she paused, her voice, already so low that Sesshoumaru could hardly hear her, lowered several more levels. She was starting to whisper something to her friends.

"And _what_ are you doing here?"

Sesshoumaru jumped, Inuyasha had sprung up on him eyeing him suspiciously. Miroku was right behind him.

"I can't believe it. I lasted longer then Sesshoumaru did. I never knew you had it in you!" Miroku said in awe.

"Had what in me?" Sesshoumaru hissed knowing what the monk was implying. "I'm not a henti like you are, human!"

"_Shh! The girls will hear y…"_

"SIT"

There were two loud bangs, Inuyasha face planted into the ground and Miroku was hit with a rock in the face. Sesshoumaru blinked, then realized that the girls found out they were there. Slowly he tried to sneak away.

"WHAT WAS THAT FOR?" Inuyasha yelled, Kagome, with a towel wrapped around her, yelled back.

"YOU TWO WERE SPYING ON US AGAIN!"

"Not this time" Miroku said as truthfully as he could while trying to avoid Sango's hand. "Really!"

The girls looked at them, not believing a word of it.

"It's true! _He_ was the first one here!" Inuyasha growled pointing at a crumpled white figure inching his way away from them all.

Sesshoumaru froze and prepared for it.

"W-what? Ss-Sesshoumaru? What are you doing here!" Sango and Kagome yelled in unison.

"Yep," Inuyasha said grabbing Sesshoumaru by the kimono, forcing him from making his escape. "He was here before either of us."

"That's why we came; Inuyasha could smell him so we followed him till we found him here." Miroku explained. All the while Sesshoumaru tried his hardest to hide his face in his furry pelt.

"I wasn't trying to spy on anyone! I was only trying to find Tsuyara." Sesshoumaru whispered, whishing he was anywhere else at the moment. "I didn't even know that they… where is she?"

…...

Tsuyara stopped finally; she had hurried out of the pool and retrieved her cloths before anyone, especially Sesshoumaru, could notice her leave. Catching her breath, she leaned her back against a trunk trying to decide whether she should go back to the spring or go to the camp and wait for them. For now though she was just going to regain her composure. The snake wasn't expecting Sesshoumaru to be there…

"Did he hear me say it?" she whispered to her self.

"Hear what?" Inuyasha came through the trees, he had made her jump.

"What are you doing here?" she glared at him flashing her claws.

"Looking for you of course, all of as are… at least all of us but Sesshoumaru. He's afraid to see you face to face right now." Inuyasha explained. Tsuyara said nothing; he should be afraid to see her again, _'I thought he said he wasn't like that.' _She thought to her self. Inuyasha rolled his eyes

"He was only following your scent and nothing else. Don't be mad at him." he said as if he knew what she was thinking. He finished, mumbling "though I wouldn't know why…"

"Humph" Tsuyara smiled grimly.

"Really" Inuyasha persisted, "besides I can't imagine he'd be _that_ interested in women…"

Tsuyara growled silently to her self. "It's not that, well some of it is… I'm afraid of him."

"What ever, if that's the case then you wouldn't even be traveling with him." Inuyasha said, half laughing. Again Tsuyara said nothing. Inuyasha looked at her as if he was trying to read her. "He may not be able to tell but I can."

"Tell what?" Tsuyara asked carefully.

"You're not a full youkai are you?" he asked. Her silence and the sudden fear in her eyes confirmed his question.

*sorry I haven't posted recently. I've been busy but here is the next chapter. :3*


	8. Confession

*Disclaimer! I do not own Inuyasha or its characters. Tsuyara however is mine. No one may use her or any characters of my creation (of which I will introduce in the appropriate chapters) *

Chapter 8

Confession

Tensions were high, Tsuyara wanted to be with Kagome and Sango; Rin also agreed to this. _Somehow _she talked Sesshoumaru into staying with her new found friends as well. The two dog brothers hated every minute of it. Fights were frequent, and just as often Kagome and Tsuyara were forced to calm the storms. One night though… things got out of hand.

The full moon was only a day away, Tsuyara was obviously anxious as usual. Inuyasha was the only one who knew still, to Tsuyara's relief. He would continually give her quick looks as if to tell her things would be fine. They didn't help much, what she couldn't do was come up with another excuse for her absence during that night. She knew things would get more suspicious and Sesshoumaru would put two and two together soon… it nagged at her.

Sesshoumaru and Inuyasha sat apart from each other, a fire separating them. It wasn't enough to keep their tempers apart.

"You know Sesshoumaru, if you hate being here so much why don't you just leave?" Inuyasha growled moodily.

"I promised Tsuyara I'd stay." Sesshoumaru replied calmly.

"I thought you didn't like her in that way."

Sesshoumaru paused for a second "I'm only keeping her around till she can take care of her self" he lied.

"Feh…" Inuyasha rolled his eyes.

"Are you looking for a fight?" Sesshoumaru challenged.

"Do you want one, bastard?"

"Sesshoumaru no…" Tsuyara tried, Sesshoumaru sighed deeply, half growling.

"Since when do you take orders from anyone?" Inuyasha mocked.

"Inuyasha!" both Tsuyara and Kagome yelled.

"I refuse to let a filthy hanyou to get on my nerves!" Sesshoumaru countered. Tsuyara flinched.

"Never stopped you before" Inuyasha challenged, now standing up. Sesshoumaru stood up too, eyes turning red.

"Damn half-breed! You don't know when to shut up," he flashed his claws at Inuyasha, a green glow about them. Tsuyara stood to pull him back, he didn't move "I should kill you now, get rid of one more disgrace"

Tsuyara's claws ripped away from Sesshoumaru, leaving tears in his kimono, blood on his arm.

"If you hate half-breeds that much you should take a closer look at who you travel with." she said with a sharp, shuddering, growl.

Sesshoumaru turned, his eyes returned to their golden hue, he lowered his claws.

"What?"

"Tsuyara what are you doing?" Inuyasha warned, now backing off, but getting ready to pull Sesshoumaru away if needs be.

"If you want to kill a hanyou then kill me!" she yelled, and then with a glare and a tear, she ran off into the darkness.

Sesshoumaru stood there not sure what had just happened. All those around him, except for Inuyasha, looked just as dumbfounded.

"What did she just say?" Kagome asked.

"Didn't she tell you? At the spring she whispered to you and Sango about this." Inuyasha said. "At least that's what she told me."

"We probably didn't hear it; it was when you three made all that noise that she was trying to say something." Sango said, remembering.

"Inuyasha… what dose Tsuyara mean about taking a better look at my companions?" Sesshoumaru said finally, turning to his half brother.

"Sesshoumaru, Tsuyara is a hanyou. A half-breed just like I am." Inuyasha explained slowly. The dog lord looked furious.

"I don't believe you. I would have sensed it if she was." He denied. "I should kill you for lying.

"I aint lying baka! She told me that no demon has ever been able to sense it." Inuyasha tried. Sesshoumaru turned toward the direction that Tsuyara ran, panic took over Inuyasha. "What are you going to do?"

Sesshoumaru flashed his claws, eyes turning red.

"No!" Kagome yelled "don't hurt her!"

"Sesshoumaru you can't!" Inuyasha roared. "She never told you because she knew you would react this way!"

Sesshoumaru stopped, but didn't say anything. His eyes told Inuyasha that he was still going to find her. A long silence fell for some time, and then Sesshoumaru lashed at Inuyasha with his venom whip, catching his brother in the chest. Then before any of Inuyasha's companions could react. Sesshoumaru was gone in the trees.

…...

Tsuyara never stopped; she kept running and wouldn't stop till her legs couldn't carry her any more. She'd done it, either Sesshoumaru would choose to forget her and they'd never meet again…or

'_He'll kill me for sure if we ever meet each others eyes again...' _she shuttered at the thought.

'_Just keep running'_

…...

'_She betrayed me, lied.'_ Sesshoumaru thought bitterly. He didn't care what Inuyasha told him. So what if she was afraid of him? She should have never come to him that night, this was her doing, she might as well pay the price.

'_What are you saying?'_ a voice in the back of his mind told him. Sesshoumaru ignored it. He found the snake-youkais sent and followed it.

'_Humph… snake…'_

Soon he could hear her foot steps ahead, running faster he saw her…

…...

Tsuyara kept running, the Dog Lords scent reached her nose before she could react. He grabbed her arm and twisted her around. She expected to have been dead right then but instead angry eyes stared into hers.

"_You're a hanyou?"_ he growled.

"Let me go!" Tsuyara yelled. His grip tightened as she struggled to free her self from him.

"Tell me the truth!"

Tsuyara stopped moving and glared at him, her eyes rimmed with tears.

"Yes"

Sesshoumaru gripped tighter, his claws now on the verge of breaking flesh. Tsuyara winced.

"S-ess… you're… hurting me"

He didn't let go, how could she do that to him? How?

"You really are a snake. Lying to me like that from the beginning!"

"Whose the snake!" Tsuyara yelled her voice broken and teary. "You promised!"

"Promised what? I never promised anything to a half-breed." Sesshoumaru spat.

"I ran away trying to fix this, but… but you came to find me…" she began. Sesshoumaru's grip loosened slightly as the memory came back to him. "All you wanted was for me to be with you. I knew you would try to kill me, all those times you talked about Inuyasha in that murderous way… it scared me."

She tore away from him, now yards from his striking range. She glared at him, fear and anger written all over her shaking body.

"I couldn't get away…" she mumbled shakily. " I was torn between love and fear…"

Sesshoumaru felt numb. He couldn't move or say anything. She, however, stepped backwards from him slowly. Obviously annoyed by his silence, Tsuyara spoke again.

"So what do you wish of me? To stay or to leave for payment of my deception?" her voice was strangely cold as her red eyes pierced his. Somehow her words tore into him like nothing ever had before. Was he really that heartless?

"…I" he couldn't speak every muscle in his body seemed to be pierced with her words as if they were swords. She stepped back once more… he heard stones fall, there was a cliff behind her. He could hear her step again; Tsuyara was too angry, too scared to notice her surroundings. Something made him fly to grab her before she fell; he never felt his feet move. Tsuyara was in his arms now, quivering. He held her tightly in his arms, afraid to let her go again. He too, he noticed, was shaking.

"Don't go…"

…...

How long they stood there, only the gods knew. By the time Sesshoumaru and Tsuyara let go of one another, the golden sun had barely risen above the horizon. Tsuyara's words had flooded through Sesshoumaru's thoughts the entire night, ripping at his heart. What Tsuyara said next hurt him even more.

"Will you still want me to stay after you see me as a human?" she asked wearily, her voice tired and harsh from a night of crying. Those tears threatened to fall again when he struggled to reply, but it wasn't what she thought. It still surprised him that she would think he was like that…

"Don't cry… don't think of me that way…" he managed to say. "What difference would it make when you're human? You'll still be Tesu, that snake that lets only me near her, that comes to me for comfort and protection."

Tsuyara wiped her eyes with the back of her hand, not once making eye contact with him. She buried her face in his furry pelt "I'm sorry" she mumbled into it.

"You should get back… the others are worried about you" Sesshoumaru said calmly

"What about you?"

"They won't care if I come back, besides I'd rather not face them after last night." He explained. "Have Rin and Jaken follow you back here. I'll be waiting."

Tsuyara did what she was asked, wondering all the way if she could really trust his word again. Sesshoumaru seemed truly sincere… she would just have to wait and see.

…...

Those who were left behind at the fire were all relieved and surprised that Tsuyara was still alive. It was odd though that she was still going to travel with Sesshoumaru. Did that mean that his brother still wanted her around? It seemed impossible, but maybe it wasn't as impossible as they thought.

…...

Tsuyara returned, Rin's hand in hers, Jaken walking moodily behind them. He was confused about his master's actions these past few weeks. But now that he knew this youkai, was no youkai, but a half-breed, and still he wanted her to travel with him, befuddled the toad. But he dared not question his lord.

Though Tsuyara was relived that Sesshoumaru was ok with what she was, whether or not he will be that night still lingered in her mind. The inu-youkai seemed to be aware of this; he was unusually kind to her. More then he normally was… he was very careful and gentle with his words. Sesshoumaru never made eye contact with her. He feared it would frighten her.

Night grew near, and Tsuyara became fidgety, nervous. She hadn't told him when she was to turn human, but judging by the way she was acting he assumed it was tonight. It bothered him when she stood up and started pacing, as though contemplating if she should leave or not.

"Tesu… sit down." He said trying to be calm.

"You try being in my position." She snapped. She knew that he wouldn't understand the entirety of her words but didn't care. She paced a few more times till she broke, leaving through the trees.

Sesshoumaru jumped, giving Jaken the order to stay and watch Rin. What was she thinking? He knew that hanyous were most vulnerable at this time of their lives, so why would she leave the safety of being around another youkai who could protect her?

"Tesu!" he called after her, noticing that her sent changed slightly as the full moon rose into the sky. He followed her sent till he reached a small clearing. Her back was facing him. her tail was gone, her paws now human feet, her ears where no longer pointed like his, and her hair, her hair was as dark as the night around them, but it still seemed to glisten under the moonlight like it did when golden white. She turned slowly to meet him, blue-green eyes looking at him as frightened as a child's. Something struck him then. It was like the first time he saw her, but this time it wasn't just her hair the captivated him, it was her eyes… her entire body seemed unrealistically beautiful. No human could look that incredible.

Tsuyara waited for him to say something, she grew more nervous as his silence continued. But his expression surprised her, it wasn't angry, but… awed. She looked away from him, blushing now.

"What are you staring at me like that for?" she asked nervously. Sesshoumaru blinked.

"I've never… never seen anything so perfect." He said, her blush deepened, Tsuyara looked to the ground hiding her face in her black hair. Sesshoumaru walked forward to the human-girl in front of him. He lifted her chin to look into her blue-green eyes; they seemed to glow with her beauty in the light of the moon and stars in the sky. She stared back into the golden depths of his eyes as he embraced her.

It felt so strange, yet so right to be in his arms like this that she didn't fight it. She shook though, would he be able to hold back unlike so many before him?

"Sesshoumaru…" she whispered tearfully. He let her go, looking back into her eyes.

"I will never hurt you." He said, knowing what she was thinking. His voice was so sincere, so true; she threw her self back into his arms and smiled.

*… I've taken a bit longer to post this then I wanted too. If you remember I've actually been revising this story a little bit, so its written and its been on the site before but going through it is daunting sometimes and I'm just not always in the mood to do it. But I know in the long run it will be worth it. ReViews are helpful if you see any typos or areas of improvement please let me know… and… Be nice. I've had some mean critiques before and they're uncalled for. It dose no good to say something sucks. In fact it makes things worse so do what your mother always told you. "If you can't say something nice don't say anything at all" unless its gonna help me improve, not dash my confidence in my writing ability. =( besides this is a fanfic… It doesn't _have_ to be good. Just entertaining ^_^ *

*by the way I'm saying all this cause this and the next few chapters… are a slight bit cheesy in my mind. I'm no good at filling in the spaces between scenes and events… AT ALL. So I kinda jump through things a few times. I'm sorry . *

*PLEASE REVIEW! IT'S HELPFUL TO MY CONFIDENCE!*


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